This is a list of animals for which there is documented evidence of homosexual behavior. These animals have been observed practicing homosexual courtship, sexual behavior, affection, pair bonding, or parenting.

Bruce Bagemihl writes that the presence of same-sex sexual behavior was not officially observed on a large scale until the 1990s due to possible observer bias caused by social attitudes towards LGBT people, which made homosexuality in animals a taboo subject.News-medical.net (2006) He devotes three chapters, "Two Hundred Years at Looking at Homosexual Wildlife", "Explaining (Away) Animal Homosexuality", and "Not For Breeding Only" in his 1999 book Biological Exuberance to the "documentation of systematic prejudices" where he notes "the present ignorance of biology lies precisely in its single-minded attempt to find reproductive (or other) "explanations" for homosexuality, transgender, and non-procreative and alternative heterosexualities.Bagemihl (1999) page 213 Petter Bøckman, academic adviser for the Against Nature? exhibit, stated "[M]any researchers have described homosexuality as something altogether different from sex. They must realise that animals can have sex with who they will, when they will and without consideration to a researcher's ethical principles". Homosexual behavior is found amongst social birds and mammals, particularly the sea mammals and the primates.

Animal sexual behavior takes many different forms, even within the same species and the motivations for and implications of their behaviors have yet to be fully understood. Bagemihl's research shows that homosexual behavior, not necessarily sexual activity, has been documented in about 500 species as of 1999, ranging from primates to gut worms.Harrold (1999) Homosexuality in animals is controversial with some social conservatives because it asserts the naturalness of homosexuality in humans, while others counter that it has no implications and is nonsensical to equate animal behavior to morality. Animal preference and motivation is inferred from behavior, thus homosexual behavior has been given a number of terms over the years. Modern researchBagemihl (1999) pages 122-166Roughgarden (2004) pp.13-183Vasey (1995) pages 173-204Sommer & Vasey (2006) applies the term homosexuality to all sexual behavior (copulation, genital stimulation, mating games and sexual display behavior) between animals of the same sex.

This is a list of some mammals that have been recorded engaging in homosexual behavior, which is part of a larger list of animals displaying homosexual behavior including birds, insects, fish, etc.

Selected images

List

American bisonBagemihl (1999) page 413Imaginova (2007b) Antelope Asian elephantBagemihl (1999) page 432 Asiatic mouflonBagemihl (1999) pages 405, 690 Atlantic spotted dolphin Australian sea lionBagemihl (1999) page 367 BarasinghaBagemihl (1999) page 378 Barbary sheepBagemihl (1999) page 405 Beluga BharalBagemihl (1999) pages 209, 408, 690 Bighorn sheep Black bear BlackbuckBagemihl (1999) page 402 Black-footed rock wallabyBagemihl (1999) page 449 Black-tailed deer Bonin flying fox Bonnet macaqueBagemihl (1999) page 316 Bonobode Waal (2001)Liggett (1997–2006)Imaginova (2007j) Bottlenose dolphinImaginova (2007c) Bowhead whale Brazilian guinea pigBagemihl (1999) page 467 Bridled dolphin Brown bearBagemihl (1999) page 441 Brown capuchinBagemihl (1999) page 334 Brown long-eared batBagemihl (1999) page 473 Brown ratBagemihl (1999) page 469 Buffalo CaribouBagemihl (1999) pages 388,389 Cat (domestic)Bagemihl (1999) pages 81, 88 Cattle (domestic)Bagemihl (1999) pages 81, 82, 89 Chacma baboonPoiani (2010) page 52 Cheetah ChimpanzeeBagemihl (1999) pages 276–279. Excerpt from the book: Common Chimpanzees engage in full mouth-to-mouth contact[...] Oral sex of various kinds also occurs in a number of species[, for example] cunnilingus in Common Chimpanzees[...] In [...] Common Chimpanzees, individuals often rub their anal and genital regions together[...] Other [...] forms of "manual" stimulation include [...] anal stimulation and penetration with fingers by male Common Chimpanzees. ChitalPoiani (2010) page 51 Collared peccaryBagemihl (1999) pages 422–425 Commerson's dolphin Common brushtail possumBagemihl (1999) page 457 Common dolphin Common marmoset Common pipistrelleBagemihl (1999) page 475 Common tree shrewBagemihl (1999) page 471 Common wallaroo Cotton-top tamarinBagemihl (1999) page 333 Crab-eating macaque Crested black macaque Dall's sheep Daubenton's bat Dog (domestic)Bagemihl (1999) pages 310, 314 DonkeyPoiani (2010) page 170 Doria's tree kangaroo DugongBagemihl (1999) page 376 Dwarf cavy Dwarf mongooseBagemihl (1999) pages 447–448 Eastern cottontail rabbit Eastern grey kangaroo Elk European bison European polecatThierry Lodé La guerre des sexes chez les animaux Eds O Jacob, Paris, 2006. Fallow deer False killer whale Fat-tailed dunnartBagemihl (1999) pages 458–460 Fin whale FoxBagemihl (1999) pages 218, 231, 317 François' langur GazelleBagemihl (1999) page 391 Gelada baboonBagemihl (1999) pages 324–330 Goat (domestic) Golden monkeyBagemihl (1999) pages 299–301 Giraffe GorillaBagemihl (1999) pages 280–284 Grant's gazelle Grey-headed flying fox Grey seal Grey squirrelBagemihl (1999) pages 461–464 Grey whale Grey wolfBagemihl (1999) pages 231, 436–440 Grizzly bear Guinea pig (domestic) Hamadryas baboon Hamster (domestic) Hanuman langurBagemihl (1999) pages 293–298 Harbor porpoiseBagemihl (1999) page 347 Harbor seal Himalayan tahrBagemihl (1999) page 412 Hoary marmotBagemihl (1999) page 465-466 Horse (domestic)Bagemihl (1999) pages 81, 165, 205, 226, 231 Human (see Human sexual behavior) Humpback whale Indian fruit bat Indian muntjacBagemihl (1999) page 386 Indian rhinocerosBagemihl (1999) page 430 Japanese macaque JavelinaBagemihl (1999) page 422-425 Kangaroo rat Killer whale KoalaFeige, Stacey, et al. "Heterosexual and homosexual behaviour and vocalisations in captive female koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)." Applied Animal Behaviour Science 103.1-2 (2007): 131-145.Bagemihl (1999) page 455-457 KobBagemihl (1999) page 397-401 Larga seal Least chipmunk Lechwe Lesser bushbabyBagemihl (1999) page 336-338 LionBagemihl (1999) pages 302–305.CooperEaton (1974)Schaller, (1972)Srivastav (2001) Lion-tailed macaque Lion tamarin Little brown bat Livingstone's fruit bat Long-eared hedgehogBagemihl (1999) pages 470–472 Long-footed tree shrew MacaqueImaginova (2007) MarkhorBagemihl (1999) page 409 MartenBagemihl (1999) page 448 Masked palm civetJia, Z. Y., et al. "Effects of number of homosexual partners on copulating date in female captive masked palm civets (Paguma larvata), and fluctuation of urine estrogen during breeding season ." Acta Zoologica Sinica 48 (2002): 610-616. MocoBagemihl (1999) pages 109, 469 Mohol galago Moor macaque MooseBagemihl (1999) pages 387–390 Mountain goat Mountain tree shrew Mountain zebraBagemihl (1999) pages 418–421 Mouse (domestic)Bagemihl (1999) pages 663, 693, 714 Moustached tamarin Mule deer Musk-oxBagemihl (1999) pages 410–413 Natterer's bat New Zealand sea lion Nilgiri langur Noctule North American porcupineBagemihl (1999) page 472 Northern elephant seal Northern fur seal Northern quoll Olympic marmotBagemihl (1999) pages 465–466 OrangutanBagemihl (1999) pages 284–288 Pacific striped dolphin Patas monkeyBagemihl (1999) page 328 Pere David's deer Pig (domestic)Bagemihl (1999) pages 81, 82, 225–226, 232–240 Pig-tailed macaque Plains zebraBagemihl (1999) page 418-421 Polar bear Pretty-faced wallaby Proboscis monkey PronghornBagemihl (1999) pages 394–396 Pudú PukuBagemihl (1999) pages 397–401 QuokkaBagemihl (1999) page 451 RabbitBagemihl (1999) page 81 Raccoon Raccoon dogBagemihl (1999) page 440 Red deer Red foxBagemihl (1999) pages 437–441 Red kangaroo Red-necked wallaby Red squirrel Reeves's muntjac Reindeer Rhesus macaque Right whale Rock cavy Rodrigues fruit bat Roe deer Rufous bettongBagemihl (1999) pages 453–455 Rufous-naped tamarin Rufous rat kangaroo Saddle-back tamarin Savanna baboon Sea otterBagemihl (1999) pages 364–365 Serotine bat Sheep (domestic)Roselli (2004), Vol. 145, No. 2, pages 478–483 Short-beaked echidnaJackson (2025) page 117 SiamangBagemihl (1999) pages 289–292 Sika deer Slender tree shrew Snub-nosed monkey Sooty mangabey Sperm whale Spider monkey Spinifex hopping mouse Spinner dolphin Spotted hyenaForger (6 December 1998), Volume 375, Issue 2, Pages 333 – 343 Spotted seal Squirrel monkeyBagemihl (1999) pages 330–335 Striped dolphin Stuart's marsupial mouseBagemihl (1999) page 459 Stumptail macaque Swamp deer Swamp wallaby Takhi Talapoin Tammar wallaby Tasmanian devil Tibetan macaque Tasmanian rat kangaroo Thinhorn sheep Thomson's gazelle TigerSommer (2006) Tonkean macaque TucuxiBagemihl (1999) page 340 UrialBagemihl (1999) pages 405–409 Ursine colobus Vampire bat Verreaux's sifakaBagemihl (1999) pages 366–368 Vervet VicunaBagemihl (1999) pages 425–426 WalrusBagemihl (1999) pages 370–374Imaginova (2007g) WapitiBagemihl (1999) page 231 WarthogBagemihl (1999) page 421 WaterbuckBagemihl (1999) pages 397–400 Water buffalo Weeper capuchin Western grey kangaroo West Indian manateeBagemihl (1999) pages 374–377 Whiptail wallaby White-faced capuchin White-fronted capuchin White-handed gibbonBagemihl (1999) pages 288–290 White-lipped peccaryBagemihl (1999) page 424 White-tailed deer Wild cavy Wild goat Yellow-bellied marmotPoiani (2010) page 50 Yellow-footed rock wallaby Yellow-toothed cavy

See also

List of birds displaying homosexual behavior

Bibliography

References